There are two reasons why Jermain Defoe is a better Designated Player than New York's Thierry Henry.

For starters, he plays on turf -- something the finicky Frenchman refuses to do.

Second, he rolled up to Friday's pre-match training session here in Seattle driving a golf cart, his tongue fully out to tease the cameras ahead of his debut against the Sounders Saturday afternoon.

He was loose and candid, passing off this week's injury concerns as mere "speculation."

"I'm excited and feeling really sharp," Defoe said. "First game of the season and it's an important one.

"Training has been really sharp. I'm really impressed."

Toronto FC fans can finally breathe easy.

This time last week the Reds barely had enough treatment tables to nurse their injured.

Of the half-dozen players head coach Ryan Nelsen listed as questionable last week, Gilberto was the only potential starter who didn't travel to the west coast this weekend.

Despite "speculation," Defoe's 100% ready to go.

"No problems," he said, adding he's 90-minutes fit.

Asked if England manager Roy Hodgson will be watching ahead of this summer's World Cup, Defoe's confidence became even more evident.

"I hope so," he said with a smile. "It would be nice, for the obvious. I'm sure he knows what I can do. I'm sure he'll show an interest."

It's the Englishman's first chance to show TFC fans what the fuss was all about, an opportunity to make TFC's top brass look like geniuses for bringing in a player they've repeatedly said is one of the best the league has ever seen.

"You wait this year. Just watch his finishing," Nelsen said following Friday's training. "It's pretty cool to tell you the truth.

"There's a reason why they pay certain people certain amounts of money."

That quote will certainly serve as fodder if the player doesn't pan out.

"There's no external pressure," Nelsen said. "The only pressure we have is from ourselves. We all have our goals and expectations. In terms of outside, (we don't) pay attention to that."

The first goal -- maybe the only real goal -- is to make the post-season.

And, for the most part, the lineup Nelsen will trot out Saturday is close to the one that's expected to get them there.

Friday's training left most feeling like Mark Bloom will start at fullback following speculation it was Bradley Orr's job to lose. He'll play next to Doneil Henry, Steven Caldwell and Justin Morrow at the back.

In midfield, Michael Bradley is expected to debut next to Jonathan Osorio, with Jackson and Alvaro Rey flanking.

"We're going to have to rely on our mentality and our commitment," said Bradley, when asked if familiarity would be an issue early in the season. "We'll have to give it everything we have to come away with points, knowing as the season moves along we'll find our rhythm and play better and better."

Despite appearing at multiple World Cups for the U.S., Bradley admits even he is hyped for Saturday's nationally televised affair.

"Nervous, no. Excited? Definitely," Bradley said. "A few of us were talking at the airport. There's something a little different about this season. It doesn't matter how many games you've played you look forward to Saturday because there's nothing else like it."

After being on a bye last weekend, Toronto FC had a full week to roll back tape and prepare for a Seattle team that's expected to finish top three in the Western Conference. It's one advantage the Reds have in match that oddsmakers have made them fairly heavy underdogs in.

A really cheeky organization, too. The Sounders elected to train at their complex outside the city 24 hours before Saturday's match, which meant TFC had to follow, leaving it without any prep time at CenturyLink Field.

"It gets very hot and spicy in the middle third," Nelsen said of Seattle's typically damp turf field. "The conditions make it like that. There's a lot of fouls and a very high tempo to the game with the crowd and the surface."

No wonder an MLS legend like Henry chooses not to play in this environment.

It points to his lack of commitment -- and to Defoe's intent to start and hopefully leave a legacy years after he's gone.